All these Schwinns in this place and you mean to tell me we’ve got an OTSG First? It appears that way. Not only is this ’86ish Schwinn Premis a first but it’s entire component group is something we haven’t seen around here either–White SunTour and DiaCompe! Very cool.
Any Schwead’s have information on this bike? I’m too lazy to look it up.
Here is my latest contribution to your great website.
It’s an 1980′s Schwinn Premis that I Sold on Craigs L not long ago.
It was a great riding bike, just a little to colorful for my taste, with it’s Blue Suede seat and It’s White components .. Dia-Compe Aero-Compe Brakes, Sakae cranks, Suntour Cyclone shifters and derailleurs.
Thanks Again Don S
Thanks Don S
Ed H, the apparent king of backsidagarägdorotypes, has another sweet one to share. Pictured is his 1986 Schwinn Sprint; purchased for the poetic sum of $9.19.
Not much to say about this one, 1986 Schwinn Sprint purchased for under $10. It is all original and clean, the seat is deformed slightly which seems to indicate it spent most of its life hanging in a garage. It rides real nice; it is a little small for me and being a woman frame not really what I wanted for myself. But the wife doesn’t care for it and it is too large for my 8 year old daughter to ride. I am considering using the parts on another project, but I am having a difficult time in bringing myself to tear this well preserved bike apart. Maybe it will have to hang in my garage while my daughter grows into it.
Thanks again Ed
This past Saturday a teammate and I headed up to Michigan to take part in the second annual Barry-Roubaix gravel road race. In the interest of full disclosure, I did not ride my old, crappy 10-speed for this event, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have my eyes peeled for participants that did! Since I was participating, I did not have as much opportunity to pester the competitors astride OTS as much as I would have liked, but below I have posted a very small sampling of the old and crappy that I did spy.
1974 Zebra Kenko
This is a one owner, OTSG-First, 1974 Zebra Kenko. The owner had swapped out a Suntour RD for a long cage Shimano Tourney to accommodate his wider range freewheel, but aside from that and the saddle, this baby was all original.
Mid 80s Trek 560
This mid 80s Trek 560 touring bike was spotted while waiting in line for my not-so traditional post-race coney dog. This baby had a triple that I would have killed for 15 miles earlier.
Miyata Ninety (Fixed)
I know, I know, this is bike is “fixed” and completely contrary to our site bylaws, but I liked it anyway. I saw several setups very similar to this, but didn’t have my camera handy for them. This one gets bonus points for being the only bike I saw with KICKSTAND! To illustrate just how out-of-it I was after the race (when this picture was taken), I said something to the owner about, “That’s a funny way to spell ‘ninety’…”, thinking that ninety should have been spelled ninty. I was tired.
Other OTS spotted but not photographed: a mid 70s Fuji with a “no derailer setup” (a straight chain on stock rings and freewheel), a couple mid 80s Schwinn touring bikes, and several SS-converted, debadged OTS.
Now get out there and start racin’ your friction shiftin’, 27inchin’, center-pull brakin’ selves!
While we’re on the topic of 1973 Fujis, here is Tom R’s Finest contribution. Just when you thought you’d seen the bottomest of bottomed-out saddles, Tom’s takes it to a whole other (lower) level.
Tom, doesn’t running 23″ rims make braking a little difficult? Or did you mean 28“? Would also love to see some closeups of the lugs, crown and stem.
1973 Fuji Finest with original sew-ups on Arc-en Ciel rims. Have also run 23″ Ukai rims. A beautiful ride either way.
Extended Italian handlebar stem is not original. Everything else is.
Tom R.
Thanks Tom
Welcome another first-time submitter, Matthew B. This is his 1973 Fuji Special Road Racer. More proof that you never really need a new bike.
As a new member, I thought that I would start out with my trusty 1973 Fuji Special Road Racer(SRR). Six years my senior, this bike was bought at a garage sale when I was about 13-14. At the time, it was pretty large for me, but I grew to fit it perfectly.
As a kid, I did absolutely no maintenance on this bike. It never got greased and I never wiped it down after it got wet. Regardless, it never failed me.
Now that we are both a bit older, I have since given the bike its deserved respect. As one can see from the pictures, I have swapped out the crank and derailers, though I purposely sought out some Fuji branded Suntour/Sugino parts to show my pride in the bike. Additionally, the bike received an overhaul and Brooks Flyer saddle.
Since I started riding this bike again, I decided to try some other vintage Fuji bikes. My collection has now grown to an America, Team, S10-S, Professional Super Record, and Opus III. While these bikes are considered to be higher end, they don’t come close to comparing to the comfort of my SRR.
The classic style of this bike certainly helps with my love of it. While the chrome seat/chain stays and fork crown/ends have their own charm, I always seem drawn to the relative uniqueness of the I-beam stem and that gorgeous dork disk.
Hopefully, this bike and I will have many more years of riding in store. I hope that you have enjoyed seeing it.
Matt
PS: Here is a link to the original catalog scan.
http://classicfuji.com/1973_04_S10-S_PageB.htm
Thanks Matthew
